Tag: underwater

Any abandoned mine sounds like an interesting place for a geocache, but the Ojamo mine in southern Finland is more than just that. The mine is completely submerged in water and still contains tracks, elevators, tools, test samples, and drilling equipment systems from when it was fully operational.

Ahoy, geocachers!When most geocachers think of T5 geocaches, they usually think of climbing to the top of a steep mountain. But some intrepid geocachers know that diving down, deep down, like, 29 meters (100 feet) down, is what T5s are really all about.

You’ve dominated the game on land and now you’re ready for the next level of geocaching — sea level that is. Dave from Geocaching HQ, aka HiddenGnome, recently found his first scuba cache in the US Virgin Islands. He returned to HQ with a plenty of vitamin D and some great advice for those who also want to go on their first underwater geocaching adventure. Scuba caches are no easy feat, but with these 7 tips from Dave, you’ll soon be ready to take the plunge.

Dave himself finding his first scuba cache, GC3CMHE, in the US Virgin Islands

2. Read cache details carefully as every scuba cache is different. Some will require park entrance fees while others may ask you to notify the local park ranger.

Geocacher Peter_U and friends at a underwater cache site in Finland

3. Research the diving area and its ecosystem. You don’t want to be unpleasantly surprised by the local sea creatures or water temperature.

Geocacher “Stray65” at GC3GB52 in Egypt

4. Bring a compass. GPS devices will not work underwater but a compass will help you navigate while submerged in water. You can also triangulate the position of the geocache based on provided landmarks – certain cache listings will specify.

Bring a compass for navigating

5. Buddy system is a must. In the off-chance that something were to happen (an underwater current), you want to make sure someone knows where you are.

Travelingeek and friends at GC4BAC0 in Cayman Islands

6. Bring a pencil or waterproof writing utensil to sign the logbook. Standard pens won’t work when wet.

Logbook at GC34AAB in Mallorca

7. Carry an underwater camera… so you can snap a shot of yourself finding the cache!